Islamic Finance Industry Players And Halal Mart Need To Jell, Says HDC

KUALA LUMPUR - Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) has called on Islamic finance industry players and the halal market to communicate with one another and start to jell, said its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin.

He said there is lack of awareness and disconnection between the two as mutual understanding is need to enable them to contribute significantly to the country and the global market.

"Better understanding of the financial institutions as well as the halal market is needed," he told reporters during a discussion on 'Financing the Halal Sector: Why Not Islamic Finance' in conjunction with the Global Islamic Finance Forum, here today.

Jamil said being the coordinator of the halal industry development, HDC observed that only 10 per cent of the 4,400 halal companies in Malaysia get their fund from the Syariah-compliant system.

He said although the Islamic Development Department has not make it compulsory for funds to be sourced from Islamic finance in order to get a halal certificate, companies are encouraged to shift to Islamic finance as an end-to-end halal solution.

It may not be done immediately, but a transition process should take place now, he said, adding that foreign investors should also be given an Islamic finance option.

"This is yet another competitive advantage because when investors come to Malaysia they will also be also looking at a fund raising exercise or working capital and trade financing.

"We want to connect Malaysia to various hubs so that we can do a lot more halal trading," he said, adding that HDC is working with Dubai to set up a halal trading hub there and Malaysian Islamic financial institutions will be part of the exercise.